Community and climate change

When you’re trying to help the planet it’s a help to know that you are not alone. I’ve been to two interesting events this month that have opened my eyes to what can be done when 'two or three' are acting together.
On 6th November I attended the Christian Ecology Link Annual Members’ Meeting in which they launched their new Ecocell 2 programme. The original Ecocell programme was a toolkit designed for small groups (such as church house groups) to help you to live a more simple, more Christian lifestyle, working through different modules such as food and transport. Ecocell 2 is more ambitious and is intended to help you work towards zero-carbon living. It’s a long-term (probably five-year) programme, working within a support group in your area although possibly not your local community. Described as ‘journeys in carbon-free discipleship’, it’s a kind of pilgrimage to a more joyful way of living on the earth. It’s a very inspiring vision although obviously extremely challenging.
It was also good to meet other members of CEL, a more diverse group than you might expect and coming at the issues from many different viewpoints. One thing that everyone seemed to agree on was the connection between Christian faith and environmental concerns. Quoting everything from Micah to John 3: 16 (‘God so loved THE WORLD‘), the view was that living sustainably is not an add-on or a hobby: ‘It’s about being truly Christian’.
A week later I was at Oxfordshire’s annual community climate conference. Aimed at community groups, it was a chance to learn and share ideas and information. There are some inspiring stories coming out about what communities can do when they act together, from the village-wide energy-reduction project carried out by Hook Norton Low Carbon Limited to, closer to home, a hydro-generation project at Abingdon weir which grew out of Abingdon Carbon Cutters.
There was also a mini-workshop on ‘faith responses to climate change’ where we looked at the barriers to engagement (tradition, suspicion of the ‘political’) and the opportunities (experience of dealing with ethical issues, ready-made communities).
My personal vision is that phase 2 of our Eco-congregation programme will be to work within the wider community. I hope these connections and examples will help us on our way to doing this.